{"title":"Dietary intake and psychosocial factors in 68-year-old men. A population study.","authors":"B S Hanson, I Mattisson, B Steen","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In a representative sample of 621 men aged 68 years 500 (80.5%) participated in a dietary history interview, and in an interview where social network and social support characteristics, marital status, and social class were assessed. Also included was a questionnaire on alcohol consumption and smoking habits, as well as weight and height measurements and an assessment of the men's physical activities. The purpose was to describe dietary habits and to characterize men with inadequate habits according to different psychosocial characteristics. Average intake of energy and nutrients was, in general, well above the recommended. However, the variation was wide. According to the definition used, about 20% were considered to have \"inadequate\" dietary habits. No proportional differences in social class and marital status were found among these men. However, those with sufficient social network and social support fared better. Overweight, obesity, low physical activity and high alcohol consumption were more common among the men with inadequate diets. Low social anchorage, low physical activity and high body mass index were independent risk indicators of inadequate dietary habits in this population.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 2","pages":"62-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14627580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Family care of impaired elderly: a role theory approach.","authors":"K Knipscheer, E ter Heine, C Ramakers","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To understand the behaviour of family members who take care of their impaired parents, a role theoretical model is presented. The model defines three dimensions of human behaviour for assessing the behaviour of role-incumbents. These three dimensions are indicated by the questions: What should be done? What is one willing to do? What can be done? This heuristic model is applied to the caring behaviour of adult children towards their impaired parents. Within each dimension a number of variables are specified and for each of them the scattered research findings of many recent studies in this area have been summarized and integrated. It seems justified to consider the model a useful guide for future research on family care of the elderly.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 2","pages":"72-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14627581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mental impairment of elderly hospitalized hip fracture patients.","authors":"A L Furstenberg, M D Mezey","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mental impairment recorded at admission, following surgery and at discharge was assessed by studying the hospital records of 98 community residing persons, 60 years and older (mean age 76.2), hospitalized for a hip fracture and discharged alive. Of the total sample, the proportion mentally impaired following surgery was 33%. In a subsample of 74 patients for whom data were known at admission and after surgery, 15% were identified as persistently mentally impaired at admission and post-surgery, 26% were impaired only post-surgically and 59% had no recorded impairment either at admission or after surgery. Length of hospitalization (LOS) differed significantly among these three impairment groups, with persistently impaired having significantly longer stays (mean number of days = 53) than the never impaired (mean number of days = 24) and the newly impaired (mean number of days = 38) falling in between (p less than 0.005). Mental impairment continued to exhibit a significant and independent relationship with length of stay even when age and total diagnoses were held constant. The substantial prevalence of mental impairment during hospitalization, coupled with the increased length of stay in patients exhibiting impairment persisting from time of admission or newly evident after surgery, underscore the importance of mental status for recovery. Findings suggest that assessing the progression of mental impairment over the course of a hospital stay yields more accurate information about the relationship of mental status to recovery indicators and that accurate assessment of impairment at admission identifies a patient group at high risk for increased lengths of stay.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 2","pages":"80-5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14627582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Elderly confidants in geriatric assessment.","authors":"E C Clipp, G H Elder","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study focuses on patterns of consensus between linked samples (focal person and confidant; total n = 124) for the purpose of explaining divergent reports and of assessing this design's utility in geriatric case assessment. Correlations, difference scores and group contrasts suggest that elderly informants who are also confidants can describe most internal states of their partners as these states are self-reported. Partners differed however, on ratings of self-esteem; confidant scores were significantly higher than self-ratings. Under certain conditions self-other discrepancy also occurs on spouse ratings of functional health: in early stages of decline and in marriages judged by clinicians to be of poor quality. This pattern is absent in pairs with women friends. The findings suggest that losses and age-related limitations have the potential to erode the self-esteem of older people and that linked samples would strengthen the process of functional assessment by bringing special information to the clinician.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"35-40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14577969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dimensions of subjective well-being in the elderly: conclusions from Dutch and English studies.","authors":"P G Coleman","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Researchers seeking scales of subjective well-being for use in gerontological research are often confused by the varying content and titles of existing scales. The results of large survey studies both in the Netherlands and England are reported which employed a number of different measures. Analysis established the existence of separate but interrelated dimensions of subjective well-being as self-esteem, subjective health, contentment with ageing, satisfaction with past life, loneliness, worries and depressed feelings. It is suggested that in many research situations a multidimensional approach to the measurement of subjective well-being will have advantages over the choice of one of the existing morale, life satisfaction and depression scales which do justice only to a limited number of dimensions.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"8-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14577972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A view from the social and behavioral sciences.","authors":"J E Birren","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"2-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14579017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cognitive impairment and the quality of care in long-term care institutions.","authors":"R Fleishman, A Rosin, A Tomer, R Schwartz","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study sought to determine whether cognitively impaired elderly in long-term care institutions receive a lower quality of care than do the non-impaired. The quality of care for each of 136 elderly in nine units for independent, frail and nursing residents was examined through the tracer method. On the basis of the MSQ test and an assessment by the ward nurse, a composite scale for measuring cognitive impairment was developed. Sixty-one percent of the elderly were found to suffer moderate to severe cognitive impairment. The cognitively impaired patients were found to receive poorer nursing care and staff were unaware of the existence of a greater proportion of their medical problems, compared with the non-impaired. The findings suggest that the lower quality care provided to the cognitively impaired is related to their greater behavioral and social problems such as aggressiveness and apathy. Staff members are apparently less inclined to have contact with patients displaying such problems. Changes of referral policies and training programs for institutional staff on the care of the cognitively impaired elderly are necessary in order to improve care for this group.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"18-23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14265493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Old and lonely?","authors":"J de Jong-Gierveld, F Kamphuis, P Dykstra","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The purpose of the present study was first, to assess the incidence of loneliness among older adults in light of gender, marital status, age and health, and second, to assess the associations between loneliness and a) descriptive characteristics and b) evaluations of the respondents' personal relationships. Interviews were conducted with 461 men and women, aged 65 and over, and living either at home or in institutions. The results show that it is necessary to examine the combined effects of marital status, gender, age and health in order to adequately assess the incidence of loneliness among older individuals. The study also reveals that an evaluation of the quality of personal relationships contributes more to the study of the incidence of loneliness than describing their characteristics.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"13-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14579016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Patients and staff assess social climate of different quality nursing homes.","authors":"S Stein, M W Linn, E M Stein","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Three hundred and one patients and 231 nursing staff from 10 community nursing homes (categories from good to poor by independent judges) rated a 63-item scale assessing social climate along seven dimensions: cohesion, conflict, independence, self-exploration, organization, resident influence, and physical comfort. Regardless of quality of homes, mean ratings by staff were more favorable (p less than 0.001 using multivariate analysis of variance) than patient ratings on four of the seven factors. When staff attitudes were compared by quality of homes, less favorable staff ratings were found for cohesion, independence, and self-exploration in poorer quality homes. Patient responses were significantly less favorable on five of seven dimensions in poorer quality homes. In summary, nursing home patients react more negatively to their institutional environments than do staff, and though poorer institutional quality does correspond to less favorable ratings by staff and patients, it is still the patient group that reacts in a more negative manner.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"41-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14577971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lineage identity and generational continuity: family history and family reunions.","authors":"M W Lindahl, K W Back","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A long tradition of sociological thought asserts that contemporary American culture is providing fewer opportunities to develop a sense of family identity and intergenerational continuity. It is possible, however, to view the modern family as stressed, but successfully adapting to the demands of modernization. One such adaptation is the widespread and growing involvement in lineage identity, manifested by an interest in preserving genealogy and family history and the holding of periodic family reunions. A 73-item questionnaire given to 130 respondents revealed strong lineage conscious attitudes and behavior, particularly on the part of women, blacks, and older people. There may be distinct benefits to be derived by individuals and families strong in lineage identity.</p>","PeriodicalId":77914,"journal":{"name":"Comprehensive gerontology. Section B, Behavioural, social, and applied sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"30-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"14577968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}